A forum that examines problems undermining the development of Cameroon in particular and Africa in general, with a view to charting the way forward. The development of Africa is first and foremost an African task.

lundi 28 septembre 2009

1. La Bande Fumante :(Edited by Jean Claude Awono and Tikum Mbah Azonga) , 1999, an anthology of poems in French by Cameroonian poets who are members of La Ronde des Poètes, published by Les Editions de la Ronde, Yaounde.

2. Gouttes d`Encre (Edited by Jean Claude Awono and Tikum Mbah Azonga), 2005, an anthology of poems, some in French and some in English, published on the occasion of Teachers` Day 2005 with funding provided by the late Atamson Peter Ngu, then Principal of Government Bilingual High School, Bamenda, Cameroon. Book published by Les Editions de la Ronde, Yaounde.

3. The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga,, 2003, a collection of ten fictional poems depicting the ups and downs of everyday life, published by Patron Publishing Company, Bamenda, Cameroon. This book has for years been used as a classroom text for prose by some of Cameroon`s secondary schools, variously in Forms 1, 2 and 3, depending on the institution, and at the Universities of Buea and Yaounde 1.

4. Sighs and Whispers from Within: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2005, a collection of poems published by Patron Publishing House,Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is also in use in Form 2 in Cameroonian secondary schools since it was published.

5. Modern Cameroon Poetry For Cameroon Secondary Schools: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2007, published by Patron Publishing House, Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is being used in Form 3 in Cameroonian secondary schools.

6. Tomatoes for Four: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems funded by the Cameroonian Ministry of Culture as part of the government`s drive to promote Cameroonian arts and culture. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.

7. A Toi, Maman Cameroon (Poems in honour of the Cameroonian woman): Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems, about half of which are in French and the other half in English. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.

8. Cup Man and other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of eight fictional short stories set in Cameroon and Britain. Published by Langaa, Bamenda, Cameroon.

9. Say No To AIDS: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems aimed at HIV AIDS sensitization partly funded by the National AIDS Control Committee of Cameroon and prefaced by the Minister of Public Health. About half of the poems are in English and the other half in French. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears.

SOME FORTHCOMING BOOKS BY TIKUM MBAH AZONGA

1. Autour de la Tour, Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in French spanning the author’s years in the journalism profession. There are quite a good number of poems dedicated to the author’s colleagues. Most of the poems were written during the period the author served as a journalist for the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, 2001-2008.

2. Echos de l`Adamaoua, Tikum Mbah Azonga: Poems in French set mainly in the Adamaoua, one of Cameroon`s ten provinces (today, regions) where the author worked for four months. The poems which are an appreciation of the people, culture and way of life of the people because the Adamaoua, the North and the Far North , commonly referred to as `the northern provinces`, are very different from the southern ones in terms of religion, way of life , climate and vegetation.

3. Me nga kar wa nala,(I told you so), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Ewondo, a dialect of the Beti family of languages used in three of Cameroon`s ten regions as well as in neighbouring countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and parts of the Republic of Congo.4. Mi Corazon de oro (My heart of Gold), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Spanish, one of the three official languages of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) of which Cameroon is a member. The other two languages are French and English. The members of CEMAC are Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

This article was published in THE POST ONLINE under the byline of Christopher Jator Njechu on 29 October 2007 and downloaded from UPSTATION MOUNTAIN CLUB on 26 September 2009 by the author of the books, Tikum Mbah Azonga.______________________________________

Three news books have found sanctuary in Cameroon's library. "The Wooden Bicycle" - a collection of short stories, "Sighs and Whispers" - a collection of poems and "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" - an anthology of poems were written by a translator and CRTV journalist, Tikum Mbah Azonga.

He, however, co-authored "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" with Dr Doh, a university lecturer in America and Ben Young Junior, the Principal of GBHS Fundong in the Northwest Province.

All the three books which treat themes of everyday life: experiences, joys and pains, focus on the curriculum for Cameroon schools and are used in classes I to III, respectively. Speaking shortly after the launching, Tikum Mbah said in "Sighs and Whispers" he is putting across the message that poetry is an overflow of emotions; that this message is deeply embedded in the poem called 'Afo-Akum'. In short, the message is that life is what you make it. According to Tikum, the short stories as well as poems should interest everybody. "Somebody, everybody has to learn something from the books," Tikum said.

All three books later went on to become official set textbooks in Cameroon's schools. "Sighs and Whispers from Within" was one of the National Book Commission's two options for Form Two Poetry, while "Modern Cameroon Poetry" enjoyed the same treatment in Form Three. "The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories", although not on the official booklist for secondary schools, continues to be a favourite classroom textbook for prose in some reputable secondary schools of the private sector. The book is also beeing used as a set text book at the University of Buea and in the Department of English Modern Letters at the Ecole Normale Supérieure Annexe in Bambili.

vendredi 25 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 12th of November 2003. The paper was broadcast when Paul Biya just celebrated 21 years in office as President of Cameroon. The author used that occasion to fast forward the clock of time and look at what Cameroon would look like in another 21 years. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

Without any doubt, celebrations are an interesting aspect of everyday life. They give those who are being fêted an opportunity to be the centre of attraction and those joining in the feast, a pretext to wine and dine. Nonetheless, feasting can also be an excellent occasion for carrying out an inventory and assessing progress made so far. The next logical advantage is, of course, the fact that forward planning can also be done. In other words, the way forward can be charted, either as the icing on the cake or as a way of balancing the assessment equation.

Following on from the merriment of Paul Biya’s 21 years in power, let us now take a leap forward and get a snapshot of Cameroon, 21 years from today. That day will mark the twentieth anniversary of the presidential election billed for next year, 2004, if the election takes place as scheduled¹. It is to be noted that if Paul Biya still runs as a candidate for his own succession, then the election will mark the beginning of a second seven-year presidential mandate for him, since he had the constitution amended by the National Assembly, prolonging the presidential term from five to seven years. Although this move was generally widely approved by members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) of which Paul Biya is chairman, on the whole, the opposition cried foul, interpreting the measure as an attempt by Paul Biya to “hang on to power at all cost.”

The year 2024 will be just one year before the current millennium, clocks its first quarter century. However, the key question as to who will be the main actors on the stage in Cameroon or elsewhere in Africa remains a difficult one because at this point in time, it is hard to tell, unless one is of course, Madame Soleil, able to read and interpret the future from her famous crystal ball. One thing is clear though: some of us will have departed from this world, just as some more will also have been born, as if sent by the divine will to numerically replace the deceased ones. It would be interesting to know if by that time, Cameroonians will have stopped making death triumph over birth. The point is that for at least a decade now, Cameroonians have glorified death in the sense that daily, the media are awash with death announcements. It is always death announcements one hears over the radio or sees on television, or reads in the newspapers. There are hardly any birth announcements, as if Cameroonians were only dying and not being born.

Things have got to a point where when a man dies, for example, different announcements come from his wife, children, employer, social group leader, former school mates and friends. A closer look at this phenomenon indicates that deaths have actually been transformed into commercial activities. When a man dies, the family deliberately leaves him in the mortuary while paying a fee for keeping him there, until it is felt that enough announcements have reached enough people who will through their contributions in terms of money or food or drink, make the funeral a “good” one. A “good funeral” in the Cameroonian context has become one in which those who come to sympathize with the bereaved go away feeling happy that they have had enough to eat and drink. Otherwise, they go away disgruntled and wondering aloud why this has been such a bad “cry die” that one had only so little to eat and drink. Often, a musician is paid to entertain sympathizers during the night vigil. He plays music, usually in the large and open yard so that people can dance as a way of paying last respects to the dead person. One individual who has raised wake-keeping musical entertainment to an art is Loh Benson, a musician by career. In fact it is said that Loh’s love for music began when he was still in primary school. At the time he used to play to entertain peers, teachers and parents. Today not only does he have his own compositions, but he is being emulated by others who earn a living by entertaining at vigils. In one part of the town of Bamenda, that is the Nkwen Fondom of Bamenda III sub Division, night vigils have been banned by the Fon. The reason given is that when so many people come out at night and congregate, appalling acts are committed. These include promiscuity, theft, witchcraft, abduction and rape.

Opinions are divided over the origin of the commercialization of funerals. One school of thought holds that it all began in the mid nineteen eighties when the economic crunch hit Cameroon very hard and while in the quest for money, people realized they could capitalize on funerals by getting as many people as possible to come bearing “gifts of sympathy”, some of which like money, could then be converted into other needs. Another school of thought affirms that it was a deliberate attempt to highlight deaths in order to show Cameroonians and the world that President Paul Biya was ruling the country so badly that “everybody was dying”. Whatever is the case, there is a third school which posits that all that waste of money on a person who is no more is a mere misplacement of priorities. For that reason, those who hold that view state categorically that it is better to honour people when they are alive so that they can see and appreciate, not when they have turned their back and the corner and are out of view and out of sight.

One aspect of the year 2024 which will certainly interest Cameroonians is their President, Paul Biya. The question is whether or not he will still be on the political scene. The fact is that in 2024, if Biya is still alive, he will be 91 years old. So, can he still be in power? The technical answer is, ‘yes’, if he still has the strength and can hold himself together. But the most likely answer is, ‘no’, because at such an age, one is normally exhausted and deserves a rest. The point is important because there are Cameroonians who would ruthlessly push Biya out of power, if they had their way. He is being held responsible for overstaying his welcome, and thereby virtually turning the republic into a kingdom of his own. He has also been charged with allowing corruption to triumph in an unbridled manner and then attempting vainly and at the eleventh hour, to curb it.

Nonetheless, the problem of Paul Biya, if the truth be told, is not just he alone. It is also Cameroonians and the opposition, but perhaps the opposition more than just Cameroonians. Cameroonian’s opposition is greatly divided, first of all because with over two hundred political parties, they are bound to speak with different and deferring voices which are difficult for the electorate to understand. The best option would have been for the opposition to merge and form one or two strong parties which could then counter Biya more strongly and meaningfully. However, when it comes to that, especially on the point of choosing a single presidential candidate to represent the opposition against Biya, no opposition leader is willing to yield an inch to the other. This hide and seek game reminds me of the tale about the mice race that was decimated by the cat. When during a meeting of the mice it was unanimously agreed that a bell should be tied round the neck of the cat so that once it was approaching, the mice would be warned and take cover, nobody was willing to go and tie the bell around the cat’s neck. In other words, no one was wiling to be the one to “bell the cat”.

Whatever is the case, it is certain that the year 2024 will come. But then since time is a very tricky phenomenon, that year will be here so quickly that it will take many unawares. When that time comes, our Cameroon is likely to be still firmly in place, despite the changing roles of the people that make it up: age, retirement, death and birth. This occurrence of permanence on the one hand and change on the other confirms clearly the dictum that “people come and go, but the nation remains.” This nation, twenty one years on, will be dominated by today’s youths who will have attained leadership status and will be more or less in positions of power, pulling one or two strings in the governing of the country. In fact, according to the United Nations Population Fund, these ‘new adults’, so to speak, will constitute the largest such transitional segment, numbering some one billion two million souls. Nevertheless, the UN body warns that the way forward is littered with political, social and economic hurdles. To stem the tide, everyone is therefore urged to strive to attain the millennium goals which were outlined by world leaders to be attained by the year 2015.

The road to 2024 is both long and bumpy. But what does that mean specifically for Cameroon? Right now, despite what some Cameroonians may think, the country has made some progress. The country is increasingly being made to host international events, economic indicators are generally on the upward trend and social amenities are being improved. Nonetheless, the country is still sometimes perceived as being adrift, rudderless and unmanned. The civil service remains unduly bureaucratic and corruption is still endemic and blatant. Although President Paul Biya has had some senior officials, including cabinet ministers put in jail, general public opinion is that it is too little, too late, and by the way, how about the many other known hardened embezzlers who are still walking free? And in any case, why have those flung in jail not been made to restore to the State what they are said to have stolen?

The only way to make the year 2024 a resounding victory for Cameroon in particular and Africa in general is for each citizen to work ceaselessly and devotedly. That is what will make the difference between a positive balance sheet and a negative one.

jeudi 24 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 10th of July 2002. The paper was broadcast following the publication of municipal elections that had just been held. Legislative elections which took place on the same day were still being awaited. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

An English language dictionary of unquestionable international repute defines the word, ‘character’, as “all the mental or moral qualities that make a person, group, nation, etc, different from others”. Another description is given as, “the ability to handle dangerous or difficult situations; moral strength.” This paper attempts a look at the political character of the Cameroon elected official.

For the newly elected councilors who saw added responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders when they were designated by their various constituents recently, the real task has only just begun. As representatives of the local communities, they will have to muster all the momentum and astuteness with which strength of character can endow a leader. This will enable them to secure even more strongly, the confidence of the electorate who by giving them their votes, in a way swore and stood by them. Having such strength of character will also ensure that the newly elected officials not only keep at bay those losers who may be overtly or covertly plotting against them, but actually convert them into friends, even if they are only political friends with all the implications that go with that status. Perhaps over and above everything else, the new councilors must realize that the electorate expects a new lease of life from them. True, some of the voters’ expectations may be unrealistic and unrealizable. But then, that is all part of the political game.

When legislative election results are also formally announced – and that should be soon – the newly elected parliamentarians will find themselves faced with a similar task. Even so, there will be more for the deputy to chew than the councilor, for, the former has dominion over a larger constituency in surface area and demographic terms. This stance is lent credence by the fact that it is said and widely believed here in Cameroon where both French and English are official languages that the parliamentarian is a “député de la nation”, and not only that of his or her constituency. The parliamentarian will move around more and mix with more people. He or she is the one who will have direct access to ministers in order to plead for development projects in their constituencies. He or she is the one who will occasionally be placed on a trip abroad along the lines of parliamentary exigencies. As such the deputy will have the advantage of comparing notes not just with deputies from other parts of the country, but also from other parts of the world. From all of the above, it is clear that the task of leadership is a Herculean one. No wonder, one pundit once said: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

Nonetheless, the danger is that these men and women now being sworn in may soon commit the cardinal sin that most leaders, especially political ones, are guilty of, once they get to power. They soon forgot those voters who brought them to their newly found glory. By so doing, they show weakness, rather than strength, of character. As the late famous musician, Elvis Presley, once put it: “I don’t like people who go into politics for themselves. If you want that, you can go into show business.” Another commentator, Victor Cousin, said: “You can only govern men by serving them”.

In the exercise of their duties, some politicians behave as if they are God’ gift to the world. Yet the bible is clear on what should be the line of action to take:

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. “ (Psalm 24:1-2).

Yet when it’s time for the next elections, the same rulers will return to the same constituents with their political hats in their hands, on bended knees, armed with sour gifts and stale pledges, promising them heaven and earth. At that point, the electorate may very well reject them on the grounds that when they were hungry and thirsty, the politicians failed to give them food and drink.

As the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once put it, “An election is a moral horror, as bad as battle, except that it doesn’t have the blood. It is a mud bath for every soul concerned.”

Surely, now is the time, on this dawn of a new era, for our leaders to start building bridges which will link them to the future. In so doing, they must remember that the people they meet on their way up are the same ones they will meet on their way down. That may be the utmost test for political strength of character.

mercredi 23 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 10th of July 2002. The paper was broadcast following the publication of municipal elections that had just been held. Legislative elections which took place on the same day were still being awaited. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

An English language dictionary of unquestionable international repute defines the word, ‘character’, as “all the mental or moral qualities that make a person, group, nation, etc, different from others”. Another description is given as, “the ability to handle dangerous or difficult situations; moral strength.” This paper attempts a look at the political character of the Cameroon elected official.

For the newly elected councilors who saw added responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders when they were designated by their various constituents recently, the real task has only just begun. As representatives of the local communities, they will have to muster all the momentum and astuteness with which strength of character can endow a leader. This will enable them to secure even more strongly, the confidence of the electorate who by giving them their votes, in a way swore and stood by them. Having such strength of character will also ensure that the newly elected officials not only keep at bay those losers who may be overtly or covertly plotting against them, but actually convert them into friends, even if they are only political friends with all the implications that go with that status. Perhaps over and above everything else, the new councilors must realize that the electorate expects a new lease of life from them. True, some of the voters’ expectations may be unrealistic and unrealizable. But then, that is all part of the political game.

When legislative election results are also formally announced – and that should be soon – the newly elected parliamentarians will find themselves faced with a similar task. Even so, there will be more for the deputy to chew than the councilor, for, the former has dominion over a larger constituency in surface area and demographic terms. This stance is lent credence by the fact that it is said and widely believed here in Cameroon where both French and English are official languages that the parliamentarian is a “député de la nation”, and not only that of his or her constituency. The parliamentarian will move around more and mix with more people. He or she is the one who will have direct access to ministers in order to plead for development projects in their constituencies. He or she is the one who will occasionally be placed on a trip abroad along the lines of parliamentary exigencies. As such the deputy will have the advantage of comparing notes not just with deputies from other parts of the country, but also from other parts of the world. From all of the above, it is clear that the task of leadership is a Herculean one. No wonder, one pundit once said: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

Nonetheless, the danger is that these men and women now being sworn in may soon commit the cardinal sin that most leaders, especially political ones, are guilty of, once they get to power. They soon forgot those voters who brought them to their newly found glory. By so doing, they show weakness, rather than strength, of character. As the late famous musician, Elvis Presley, once put it: “I don’t like people who go into politics for themselves. If you want that, you can go into show business.” Another commentator, Victor Cousin, said: “You can only govern men by serving them”.

In the exercise of their duties, some politicians behave as if they are God’ gift to the world. Yet the bible is clear on what should be the line of action to take:

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. “ (Psalm 24:1-2).

Yet when it’s time for the next elections, the same rulers will return to the same constituents with their political hats in their hands, on bended knees, armed with sour gifts and stale pledges, promising them heaven and earth. At that point, the electorate may very well reject them on the grounds that when they were hungry and thirsty, the politicians failed to give them food and drink.

As the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once put it, “An election is a moral horror, as bad as battle, except that it doesn’t have the blood. It is a mud bath for every soul concerned.”

Surely, now is the time, on this dawn of a new era, for our leaders to start building bridges which will link them to the future. In so doing, they must remember that the people they meet on their way up are the same ones they will meet on their way down. That may be the utmost test for political strength of character.

mardi 22 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 15th of December 2003, a day after the then Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein was captured by occupying Allied forces in Iraq, led by America. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

The arrest of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein made world headline news, and rightly so, for since American and British troops urged largely by the leaders of the two countries, George Walker Bush and Tony Blair respectively, drove him from power in April, Iraq had become a major world centre of attraction as millions of people followed the evolution of the ongoing war in the Middle Eastern country which is so dear to Christians as it was the scene of some major events in the Holy Bible. To the Americans, especially their president George Walker Bush who had been out to get Saddam Hussein at all cost, this was one big catch. One can therefore understand the feeling of triumph of Paul Bremmer on Saturday, the day Saddam was caught, when he announced to media men and women at a hurriedly convened press conference in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad: “Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!”

One point that has struck many observers is the relative ease with which the Iraqi strong man was caught. A correspondent for the Associated Press (AP) wrote: “A man who lived in sprawling palaces was pulled form a hole in the dirt; a man who challenged the greatest armies in the world was arrested without firing a shot. A man, who embezzled billions of dollars and put his image on every bank note, was found with a single suitcase of cash bearing the face of an American: Benjamin Franklin.” The AFP reporter went on: “Saddam was found in a hole with nothing more than a pistol on his lap. His hair was long and matted, and he wore an unkempt salt-and-pepper beard. He appeared bewildered but put up no resistance. For the last 35 years, Saddam Hussein presented himself as a lion to the Americans and the West. And now, today, they found him like a mouse.”

The capture of Saddam Hussein is undoubtedly a moral booster for the United States President George Walker Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair who had been bent on having Saddam Hussein’s head on a platter, like that of John the Baptist, so to speak. This was despite the growing opposition from the American and British people, and of course, many others the world over. Although Bush and Blair persisted and carried out their act; it must be said that the main reason given by the two men for going to war in Iraq, namely that Saddam Hussein kept weapons of mass destruction, remained puzzling and unproven, as to this day, six years after the allied troops entered Iraq, no such weapons have been found. So Saddam Hussein was right after all when he said repeatedly that he had no weapons of mass destruction, appoint which the Chief Weapons Inspector of the United Nations confirmed all along. Yet, neither Bush nor Blair offered Saddam or the Iraqi people an apology for invading their country; Instead, Saddam was made to pay the ultimate price of death by hanging, the pretext this time being that he “gassed his own people, anyway.” Many will live to remember the victorious reaction of Bush when he learned of the capture of Saddam. Bush is quoted as having said that the captured man would “face the justice he denied millions.”

Looking back now, one recalls that the arrest of Saddam led to scenes of jubilation even in Iraq, with the climax being the moment when American troops decapitated the giant statue of Saddam in Baghdad and pulled it down with the help of a rope; Iraqi people and American soldiers could be seen gleefully taunting the figure as if it was Saddam himself. However, this was to be expected because the human by nature likes to watch entertaining spectacles, especially when such spectacles are free of charge. But this was exactly where the coalition ought to have been careful because it is not easy for a non-Arab to understand the mind set of the Arab. In the case of this “unjust” war against Iraq, an Arab country, America should have remembered that the general feeling among the Arabs is that in the conflict between Israel and the Arabs, America leans too heavily on the side of Israel, to the extent of being seen as an all-time accomplice against the Arabs.

Perhaps at the time Bush waged this war, he felt it would be short lived and his troops would soon be back home. But he was wrong. One clear fact is that he and his unconditional ally, Tony Blair, failed to draw lessons from the political history of their two countries. I am thinking of the American war of independence which led to the country, today the world’s indisputable Number One power, America. The war broke out when King George III who acceded to the British throne in 1760 was the ruling monarch of Britain. At the time, the king and his prime minister, Lord North wrote off the just started war in America as “a mere skirmish” which would soon be over. But they were abysmally wrong, for the war became drawn out and led to America, a British colony, becoming independent.

Similarly, the world is a living witness to the fact that six years after the war in Iraq began, it has still not really come to an end. One by way, the “so called” allies who provided troops to fight alongside America have pulled out their forces. The unpopularity of the war cost the then prime minister of Spain his face, just as it did to Britain’s Tony Blair. George Walker Bush packed out of the White House earlier this year when his second and final (according to the American constitution) term of office came to an end. All he can do now is watch as his successor, Barrack Hussein Obama, contradicts his policies by removing American troops from Iraq. Obama has gone further by taking steps to close down the now infamous Guantanamo Bay where Bush had people suspected of involvement in the terrorist destruction of the twin towers in New York in 2001, held arbitrarily and inhumanely.

When one looks at life in Iraq during the occupation, one realizes that by far more people have been killed in Iraq than they were in the reign of Saddam Hussein. One of the errors made by Bush was to dismantle and disregard the security forces left in place by Saddam. The vacuum created by this state of affairs led to chaos in Iraq with attempts on lives and assassinations of both allied members and Iraqis being the order of the day. Power failure and potable water shortage as well as disease have become commonplace in the country. In fact; some observers have estimated the destruction caused in Iraq since the invasion to be the equivalent of fifty years of development and civilization being suddenly deducted from Iraq. In other words, the damage is considerable.

No doubt, mistakes have been made. But the only way forward is for foreign troops to leave Iraq completely and alone. History has shown that no group of people wants to live under an army of occupation. Invariably, matters come to a point where nationals must become restive and want to break free from the yoke of oppression. Let the Iraqi people run their own affairs. As for the architect of the mess; George Walker Bush, the worst scenario is for him to be made to go on trial for crimes against humanity. The best is for him to just get up one day and tell the Iraqi people he is sorry. Whether Bush will have the humility to do the latter is a totally different ball game.

lundi 21 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 16th of June 2005. The paper was delivered during the end of year examination period, when a relatively large number of Cameroonian students traveled to the neighbouring Republic of Chad in order to sit for the Chadian Baccalauréat examination, in preference to the Cameroonian one. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

Of all the African countries south of the Sahara, Cameroon is probably the one that stands out most prominently. If one were to do a random sampling with a view to obtaining the reason, one would no doubt find that Cameroonian football would be named repeatedly, the country having written its name several times in the annals of world football, through a national squad that nearly humiliated England at the quarter finals of a world cup competition, then of course through two individual Cameroonian footballers who shook the world with their sports talent. They are Roger Milla, today retired from professional football and currently Roving Ambassador appointed by Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, and the young and dynamic Samuel Eto’o Fils who has several international football awards to his credit.

However, there is surely more to Cameroon than just football. Firstly, nature from the very beginning endowed the country with a geographical location that places it in the very heart of the African continent. Cameroon is more or less equidistant between north and south on the one hand and east and west on the other. Cameroon enjoys all the vegetation and climatic types found elsewhere on the continent. As such it has the desert, semi-desert, tundra/savanna, grassfields, the forest and furthest south, the dense equatorial rain forest varieties. In terms of religion, Cameroon has Muslims and Christians as well as animists, all of them cohabiting side by side without the usual clashes one hears between similar groups in other countries such as neighbouring Nigeria. Besides, Cameroon is the only country on the continent using French and English as official languages.

One aspect that probably deserves special attention is that of education, one reason being that for decades, Cameroon’s educational system has forged ahead progressively to the extent that today, it has one of the best schooling and literacy rates in Black Africa. Furthermore, unlike some neighbouring countries where education has suffered setbacks caused by civil war, civil unrest, persecution and military coups like in Chad, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Cameroon has enjoyed peace and stability, factors which have, no doubt enhanced the evolution of the education sector.

Cameroon operates an enviable system of education, thanks partly to the role played by its two official languages, French and English. Increasingly, ‘bilingual’ (French and English) nursery and primary schools are springing up throughout the country. Some are opened and run by the state while others are the initiative of the private sector which includes the lay private non confessional and the lay private confessional. At the secondary level, the country also has bilingual secondary and high schools. In State Universities which include the professional schools, lecturers can deliver lectures and set examinations in any of the two languages, just as students can answer the questions in any of the two languages. When there was only one university in the country, the University of Yaounde, Anglophone students who attended it with little or no knowledge of French usually became bilingual at the time they completed their courses. Today, with the country having seven state universities, Francophones who attend the Anglo-Saxon university of Buea find that at the end of their courses, they too have become fluent in English.

Although it would be easy to conclude that all is well with Cameroon’s educational system, such a view is in reality would be misleading. For instance, at the time this article was written four years ago, some university students had just gone on strike to demand better working conditions and upper sixth students of the Francophone sub system of education had moved to the nearby Republic of Chad to sit for the Baccalauréat examination which incidentally was and is still also offered in Cameroon, a country whose educational system is believed to be more developed and advanced than that of Chad.

Although the government quelled the student demonstrations by taking measures that were far reaching and in the case of the exodus to Chad, succeeded more or less in stemming the tide, there is need to unearth the root causes of the incidents and find ways of nipping them in the bud before they ever raise their ugly head again. The government must therefore guard itself against simply papering over the cracks. As far as the university strike is concerned, it must be said that some of the reasons advanced for it are simply mind-boggling and beg the question as to whether the authorities needed a student strike before realizing that student working conditions are sub standard and consequently need improvement.

When this article was first written in 2005, it was impossible and unrealistic to discuss the problems of higher education in state universities without mentioning the Annex of the Advanced Teachers’ Training College (Ecole Normale Supérieure) in Bambili, a village in the predominantly Anglophone region of the North West currently undergoing urbanization mainly on account of the numerous educational institutions it hosts. The reason is that although the institution was created decades ago, it had never really been given an infrastructure befitting its status. This inevitably led to some politically minded observers concluding that the government which was made up of mainly Francophones, who to be fair constitute 80 per cent of the country’s population, were deliberately retarding the take off of the college because it was in the Anglophone zone. Nonetheless, that was four years ago. Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge. The government has put up new buildings on the campus, refurbished some old ones and reconstructed the road leading into the campus. These serious moves began during the reign of Dr Mrs. Dorothy Njeuma as Rector of the University of Yaounde I, the parent University of the Bambili College. The latest dramatic step was the surprise announcement some months ago by the Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo some months ago, that Bambili which had been only a first cycle institution, training teachers for the first cycle of secondary school (Forms One to Five), would have its second cycle from this October 2009. The minister went further and provided the icing on the cake by stating that the first and second cycles of an Advanced Technical Teachers Training College were also to take off at the same time. Understandably, the Anglophone populations were euphoric, although some in the South West, the other Anglophone administrative region in addition to the North West where Bambili is located, felt the new institutions should now have been opened in their own region. Their claims have some legitimacy because a closer critical look indicates that North Westerners have often dominated South Westerners in many areas, among which are the number of students and lecturers in institutions of higher education, and of course, appointments to posts of responsibility.

Although the Chadian tide may be ebbing, it is nevertheless essential for the Cameroon government to give the matter serious thought. One obvious reason is that by opting to travel to a different country in order to write an examination that is offered in their own country, these young Cameroonians seem to be undermining the educational system of Cameroon, or at least ringing the alarm bells that there is something not right about it. Furthermore, there are obvious dangers involved in young persons, especially females undertaking such journeys and even having to spend days in a foreign land. Searching questions about this thorny include those that have to do with whether all the seven thousand or so candidates who traveled to Chad in that year returned home in the end? Are we sure some of the girls were not made to trade sex for marks? Can we confirm that Did some did not come back pregnant? Worse still, some such students have traveled to Chad only to find that their names were not on the list of candidates authorized to sit for the examination.

The point is that the Cameroonian educational system needs some shaking up. A case in point is the fact that although the Probatoire, the exam which precedes the Baccalauréat, has been scrapped in Chad with only the Baccalauréat left in place, in Cameroon the Probatoire is still demanded. Yet despite the discrepancies, the Chadian Baccalauréat is widely accepted by the Cameroon government. Another concern is that higher education in Cameroon is too bogged down and not forward looking enough. Courses offered are too academic in nature and therefore leave little room for technical and commercial education which is more likely to lead to job creation and the realization of wealth. Cameroonian political and educational authorities need to learn from those countries which recognize work experience. In Britain this is done trough what they call the mature student system of admission, which means that a candidate who is an adult can be admitted to a degree course without the necessary paper qualifications. In recent years, France has gone a step further and adopted a law that allows people who have years of work experience to convert them into degrees, with such degrees having the same strength and validity as those earned in the conventional manner of sitting in a classroom and studying. However, things may change in Cameroon for the better, with the adoption of the worldwide system of grading and degree award known as the BMD (Bachelor, Master and Doctorate) system introduced in the country about three or four years ago. The BMD is flexible and more job market oriented, a factor which makes it quite appropriate for a country grappling with poverty alleviation and job creation.

All told, the Cameroonian educational system is not fairing too badly. But it could be a lot better. For the desired change to come, all the stakeholders must put their hand to the plough. Nonetheless, the onus is on the government to take the lead. And that time is now. A stitch in time saves nine.

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 9th of July 2003. The paper was delivered during National Bilingualism Week in Cameroon. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

It is a well-known fact that Cameroon’s status as a country using the two languages French and English, as official languages is both unique and enviable throughout the world. Cameroon is arguably the only country in Africa with such an asset, and even when one considers Canada as another bilingual country; Cameroon is still miles ahead in terms of the bilingual integration of its various communities. It is to be noted that unlike Canada, Cameroon grapples with over two hundred ethnic.

As if that blessing was not enough, we again live in a country that much to the amazement and perplexity of foreigners uses daily, over 230 other languages of its own. Such a state of play leaves the average Cameroonian speaking something like four or five languages, which to the foreign visitor looks like magic.

Some of our compatriots while abroad have used their linguistic prowess to great profit. One senior civil servant who migrated to America found himself making a living by serving as a translator-interpreter. Yet he never trained as such. What enabled him to do the job was his intimacy with French and English while actively in the civil service of his nation. Another Cameroonian, an Anglophone, who moved to the Republic of South Africa, exploited his talents in a similar way, yet his previous formal linguistic qualifications were limited to a degree in English obtained form the University of Yaounde. Another Cameroonian, still an Anglophone, who obtained a degree in English from the University of Buea, found himself employed in the French-speaking Republic of Burkina Faso, to teach, not English as one might expect, but French!

In the same vein, Cameroonian Anglophone children who have moved to schools in Britain, have systematically outclassed their mates not just in French which is supposed to be a `foreign` language to both them and their British counterparts, but also in the English language, and of course most of the other subjects. This level of performance lends credence to the theory that bilinguals are cognitively more versatile than monolinguals.

In a bid to promote not just our numerous languages but first and foremost, official bilingualism, government has taken a number of steps among which is the enshrinement in the constitution of the Republic, of the two official languages. Furthermore, the President of the Republic, some years ago, issued instructions to state officials clearly indicating that official communication texts must be prepared, signed and published in both French and English. Shortly after, the Prime Minister Head of Government wrote to ministers decrying the fact that documents were still being published in only one of the two official languages (French), despite the provision of professional translators to those ministries. That was then.

Even so, the implementation of official bilingualism in Cameroon leaves a lot to be desired. Far too many important official announcements continue to be made in only French, to the detriment of those who speak English and are poor at French. Too many official sign boards all over the country are written in only a single official language. This generally applies to the eight predominantly Francophone provinces as far as French is concerned on the one hand, but also to the two predominantly English speaking provinces on the other hand as far as the English language is concerned. What happens is that almost daily, at least one public notice from a ministerial department or parastatal is hurriedly sent off to either the National Radio Station or the state daily newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, without due care being taken to make the text available in the other language. Sometimes even when prior thought is given to translation; some texts translated from French into English are very poorly translated. A typical example is that of the certificate technical examination for secondary schools whose questions appear to be set in French and then are poorly translated into English.

One way of making official bilingualism functional and more meaningful would be to review its structural reorganization. One of the main reasons for the lapses is the fact that translation as such does not really have a parent ministry. Although for years it has been controlled by the Presidency of the Republic, the latter seems to be more interested in deploying translators in its own services than in the external services. Perhaps now is the time to set up a ministry in charge of translation and the promotion of official bilingualism. Such a ministerial department could also be linked to the promotion of Cameroon’s 230 and more national languages. In such a case, related bodies such as the National Association of Language Committees (NACALCO), the Operational Research Project for Language Education in Cameroon (PROPELCA), the Association of Bible Translators (CABTAL) and SIL, the American NGO which teaches Cameroonians how to read and write their own languages, could greatly benefit from the experience.

If such a ministerial department were to be created, it would no doubt have equal rights with existing ministries. It would also be able to run its own decentralized services in the regions, divisions and sub divisions, all of them providing translation, interpretation and the promotion of national languages.

jeudi 10 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 24th of November 2004, at the time American troops, supported by allies, and invaded Iraq. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.______________________________________

Like him or loathe him, when the history of contemporary America is written, it will incontestably be stated that George Walker Bush was a man who firmly broke new ground. He was clear, unambiguous and decisive in his policies, especially his foreign policy. For instance, he unequivocally termed the group of “enemy” countries in which he included Iran and North Korea and Iraq as “the axis of evil”. He remained implacable even when confronted with what one might regard as “obvious” wrongfulness such as the yet-to-be-found weapons of mass destruction over which he waged a war against the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

It is to be recalled that although he did not succeed him directly and immediately, George Walker Bush became President of the United States of America after his own father had held the same post. This coincidence reminds me of the two William Pitts, both of them having been Prime Ministers of Britain, the son getting there after the father. It was therefore very befitting that my teacher of British History in high school, Mr.(today Dr.) Anthony Ndi, once gave us an assignment that ran thus; “William Pitt the Younger was not just a chip off the old block, but the old block itself. Discuss”.

Even so, as a politician, George Walker Bush proved to be very different from his father, George Herbert Bush. The former was rash, fiery and uncompromising, whereas the latter in his time at the helm of affairs, was calculating, levelheaded and flexible. Surely, discussing the two presidents from an astrological perspective will be something of a challenge because although an Air sign (Gemini), Bush Senior exuded calmness, while Bush Junior, although a Water sign (Cancer), displayed something of the ferocity of the Aries ram.

George Walker Bush undoubtedly has his own share of detractors. For instance, one observer referred to him as: “a former alcoholic and functional illiterate who has won re-election and will retain his office as 43rd President of the United States of America, despite a proven inability to pronounce the word, “nuclear”. Nonetheless, to be fair to Bush Jnr., we ought to recall Dan Quayle who while visiting an elementary school as Vice President of the United States, took the pains to add the letter “e” to a pupil’s spelling of the word, “potato”, although the word was not in the plural and therefore did not necessitate the additional “e”. As a result of that gaffe on the part of Dan Quayle, William Figueroa, the student who had written the word became an instant star not just in America but worldwide because he had beaten the President of the United States in a spelling contest.

Another commentator wrote that George Walker Bush beat his opponent (Al Gore) at the presidential election through ”fear-mongering and the time-honored tradition of banking on American stupidity.” Some detractors have even gone as far as endangering their lives in order to show their disapproval for the American President. For example, after Bush was declared winner of the presidential election, a man is said to have killed himself on the site where the twin towers of New York had stood before they were struck down by suicide planes driven by agents of Al- Quaeda leader, Usama Bin Laden. Shortly after, another man is said to have set himself alight at one of the entrances to the White House, the official residence of the American President, while shouting, “Allah! Allah!”

Whatever is the case, George Walker Bush is very likely to take it very much in his stride, since he is no stranger to controversy. One only has to look at the conditions under which he beat Democratic Presidential Candidate, Al Gore. As we know, his foreign policy, especially as it concerns the war in Iraq, created enemies for him and greatly divided America. Even so, after serving his first term as president, and despite his abrasive nature, the American people still trusted him with a second mandate. Perhaps that is America, the World’s Number One country at its best – or its worse, depending on how you look at it.

Whether you call George Walker Bush an icon, a die-hard maverick, a political dinosaur, an invincible sphinx, or even a modern day Spartan or simply the great survivor, what is undeniable is that he is in a class of his own. With a degree in history and an MBA from the prestigious Harvard University of the United States of America, he is unique in being a president whose father was a president and whose grandfather was a senator. He is the first American President to have appointed a Black man, Colin Powell, and later a Black woman, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, to the key post of Secretary of State, a coveted and prestigious position which can be likened to that of Prime Minister in countries that have prime ministers. George Walker Bush is the first modern day president to have demanded that the situation of immigrants in America be reviewed so immigrants in irregular situations could regularize their situation and be in a position to take up jobs in America.

In fact, it seems there is no limit to how far the former fighter pilot could go to do what he believed in. A case in point is the incident that happened at a reception in Santiago (Chile) in 2004, when the President personally stepped in to break up a scuffle between his bodyguard and Chilean security men who were stopping the guard from getting into the hall. This was during the Asia Pacific Summit that was held in the Chilean capital in that year.

The least one can say about the unstoppable George Walker Bush is to paraphrase Former President Ronald Reagan who once said: “You ain`t seen nothing yet”

mercredi 9 septembre 2009

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 13th of March 2002, when Cameroon celebrated Commonwealth Week. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.

This, as we know, is Commonwealth Week, the time of the year set aside by the 54 members of the Commonwealth family for commemorating the worldwide organization.

As a fully-fledged member, Cameroon enjoys equal access to the facilities and benefits that accrue from membership of that world body. These fallouts are not, as some may think, a cash dispensing machine, ready and waiting to dole out hard cash to the needy; neither is it a quick way to get a visa to travel abroad.

The Commonwealth, which spans Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, has a population of 1.7 billion people and is the largest world organization after the United Nations. One of the organization’s objectives is to make the world of its members and the world at large, a better place. As such, it helps in promoting human rights, democracy as well as sustainable economic and social development. The Commonwealth is also committed to racial, religious and sexual equality. Member countries have in common the use of the English language. Our country, Cameroon, is of course, part of all of that.

Member countries network among themselves for their collective and individual good as well as for the good of the structure as a whole. Heads of State and government meet regularly, so do their ministers in conformity with decisions taken at the higher level. Once a decision is taken, it becomes incumbent on the commonwealth Secretariat, located in London, to do the follow up and assure the implementation, on behalf of the Commonwealth.

There are over 60 sub organizations within the Commonwealth, many of which run activities and programmes from which member countries such as Cameroon benefit. These include the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Nurses` Federation, the Commonwealth Trade Union Council, the Commonwealth Magistrates` and Judges` Association, the Association of Commonwealth Journalists, the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, the Commonwealth Youth Programme, and the Commonwealth Science Council, to name those. Again, Cameroon is in a position to benefit fully from those advantages. To all intents and purposes, that statement is not to be taken lightheartedly because by all indications, Cameroon, which is one of the relatively latest members of the Commonwealth, appears to be lagging behind in terms of enjoying the advantages offered by the organization. A typical example is the statement made by Dr Nkobena Fontem some five or so years ago when as Director of Commonwealth Issues at the Cameroonian Ministry of External Relations, he remarked that the main problem Cameroon faced in the Commonwealth was the fact that it was not using up its allotted quotas.

It is, no doubt, as a full member that Cameroon is today celebrating the Commonwealth. Such an event, undoubtedly, gives the Youths of our country, the opportunity to share and showcase their talents in diverse fields such as music, art exhibitions, food tasting, fashion shows and dance as well as sports, like in the case of the 17th World Commonwealth Games held in the United Kingdom in 2002.

Interestingly, the Francophonie to which Cameroon also belongs offers similar opportunities, thus giving Cameroon, the best of both worlds. It must be stressed here that the Commonwealth and La Francophonie, in the case of Cameroon, are for all Cameroonians, regardless of whether they are Anglophones or Francophones. In other words, French speaking Cameroonians have the same equal access to the Commonwealth as their English speaking counterparts, just as the English speaking ones have the same access to La Francophonie as their French speaking counterparts. The two organizations are ours and we are part and parcel of them. So, let’s use them, and use them to the fullest.

(This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 20th of May 2002, the day the Cameroonian nation celebrated the 30th edition of its national day. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005).

Today is a birthday, that of someone born thirty years ago, on the 20th of May 1972. We call that 30-year old, person - let’s make it a man to make things easier - Unitary Boy. After all, why not? Have we not heard of men calling themselves names such as, `Fineboy`, `Kamerun` and even `Afrika`? As Unitary Boy celebrates his thirtieth birthday today, other people born on that same day will no doubt join him. We all know – don’t we? – that it’s not everyday that one comes across someone with whom one shares the same birthday.

Unitary Boy’s father came of age on the 1st of January 1960, and his mother, on the 11th of February 1961. On the 1st of October 1961, both got married in Foumban, what was and still is today, headquarters of Noun Administrative Division in the West Province of Cameroon. On the 20th of May 1972, Unitary Boy was born, much to the joy of his parents. He was born an only child and was consequently the apple of his parents` eyes.

Astrologically speaking, Unitary Boy is Taurus. As a Taurean, he is one of the three zodiac signs that belong to the natural element, Earth. For the record, it is worth stating that the twelve signs of the zodiac are divided into four groups, which correspond to the four natural elements, with each element having three signs in its triangle. In addition to Taurus (April 21 – May 21), therefore, the other two Earth signs are Virgo (August 24 – September 23) and Capricorn (December 22 – January 20). The Air element comprises Aquarius (January 21 – February 19), Gemini (May 22 – June 21) and Libra (September 24 – October October 23); while the element Fire contains Aries (March 21 – April 20), Leo (July 24 – August 23) and Sagittarius (November 23 – December 21). The Water signs are Cancer (June 22 – July 23), Scorpio (October 24 – November 22) and Pisces (February 20 – March 20).

While Unitary Boy is a Taurean, his father (January 1) is Capricorn and his mother, (February 11) is Aquarian. The sign under which the couple got wedded (October 1) was Libra. As Earth signs, father and son are characteristically solid, dependable, realistic and fertile. As Air signs, Unitary Boy’s mother on the one hand and the date on which the couple (as an entity) got together, on the other hand, are both intellectual, idealistic, politically correct, too text book oriented.

Looking back, the Aquarius woman and her Capricorn man may have some regrets about falling in love with each other. The woman may have the impression that the husband is too demanding while the man has the impression that the woman is having problems with adaptability. Nonetheless, the marriage will prevail because the Capricorn Man who is symbolized by the mountain goat, the symbolic and mythical goat which when faced with climbing to the top of the mountain, knows that it will slide and fall as many times but also knows that it must prevail and win in the final analysis. However, as the Aquarius woman is ruled by the element `Air`, she lacks the patience and foresight of the Capricorn man. As a result, she may begin to look for a quick fix, not patient enough to realize that quick fixes do not last long. In other words, she may not realize that not all that glitters is gold.

The Aquarian wife’s dilemma is considerable: Does she quit? If she does, where does she go? Will her parents accept her back? Are they still there, in any case? And will divorce really solve the problem? What about Unitary Boy, in case of divorce? Does he go with the mother or the father? Or does he gain his independence? If he does, will he be able to survive alone? Surely, he will be between a rock and a hard place, as the Americans say.

The problem is that Unitary Boy is not just a by-product, a hybrid, a crossbreed, a mixture, an amalgam or even a fusion of his parents; he is also a genius in his own right. So far, he has done well in practically every field. He has come top in most examinations; he has distinguished himself in sports, diplomacy, public administration and even politics. In fact, if his parents are honest to themselves, they will admit that their son is a blessing.

At the ripe age of thirty, Unitary Boy is today contemplating marriage and would like to have both parents by his side on the day of his wedding. He tells them, just like Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda told the then British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher¹, that they have the right to be wrong by breaking up their relation. Nonetheless, he also points out to them that in the end it is he who will have to pick up the pieces; it is he who will suffer, just like the grass does, when two elephants fight. The parents, he says, were the ones who freely chose to give birth to him without him having any choice in the matter. So they are duty bound to stay together, for his sake, and sort out their problems.

As Unitary Boy celebrates his thirtieth birthday, he is fully aware of the problem his parents have. His most fervent prayer is for them to sit down at the table and talk things over. What matters to him is that in the end peace, harmony and national unity should prevail. After all, what god has put together, let no man put asunder.

At the end of a Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting that took place in the 1980s, a journalists asked President Kenneth Kaunda what he thought of Mrs. Thatcher’s continuous opposition to sanctions being slammed on the Republic of South Africa in retaliation for its racist apartheid policy. Kaunda responded by saying that Mrs. Thatcher ²has the right to be wrong.²

Qui êtes-vous ?

I speak over twenty languages. I have native-level command of both French and English. In fact, after my higher education in France, I was recruited by France and seconded to a High School in London as a "French Mother Tongue" teacher, or what is commonly referred to as a Foreign Language Assistant. I am by training a journalist, teacher of French and Spanish, as well as a translator-interpreter. I studied in Cameroon, France and England.I have criss crossed Africa and Europe.I have worked as a journalist and teacher of French and Spanish in some United Kingdom High Schools, but especially in London. Today, I teach journalism at the University of Buea in Cameroon.
I have published books of poetry in English and French, some of which are official text books in Cameroonian schools. I am currently working on a collection of poems in Spanish and another in Ewondo, a variety of the Beti language spoken in three of Cameroon's ten regions as well as in parts of neighbouring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.